In a message on the twitter, US House Foreign Affairs Committee said India’s communication blackout in Kashmir is having a devastating impact on the lives and welfare of everyday Kashmiris. The committee further said that it is time for India to lift these restrictions and afford Kashmiris the same rights and privileges as any other Indian citizen.

India’s communication blackout in Kashmir is having a devastating impact on the lives and welfare of everyday Kashmiris. It’s time for India to lift these restrictions and afford Kashmiris the same rights and privileges as any other Indian citizen.https://t.co/qG8QwaopLo

The HFAC account had posted a report by the New York Times that described the death of 22-year-old Amir Farooq Dar. Mr. Dar had died 16 hours after being bitten by a snake, because his family could not get him anti-venom in time because of severe communications and movement restrictions in Jammu & Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 (special status for Jammu & Kashmir).

The State Department’s top South and Central Asia diplomat, Alice Wells, will be among those testifying at an October 22 HFAC Asia Subcommittee hearing, expected to focus on human rights in Kashmir, The Hindu recently reported.